The Love Of Falling
by CaptainFlamesandSirens
Summary: In some relationships, you know you have fallen in love and in others, you are always falling. A glimpse into the future for Dawsey. Oneshot turned into a collection of oneshots by request.
1. Dreamscapes

**So I'm branching out! Usually I write Clarke fics but now it's time for some Dawsey love! I just really, really wanted to write a story because we have only. 3. More. Days. Until. Season 3!**

xxxXXXXXXxxx

A beer in one hand, and a boyfriend in the other; what more do you need? Add a pizza and a great movie, and it's a wonderful night.

Dawson settled onto the couch and assumed her natural spot- curled up against Casey's side. His arm draped over her shoulder and it sent a tingle through her. They had been together for months, and there was even a ring on her finger, but every touch still gave her chills. It was an amazing feeling really. Sometimes she felt like she knew everything about him, and yet she was always discovering something about him. She knew she had fallen in love with him but it was like she just kept falling.

Dawson's head was laying just right on Casey's chest so she could hear his heartbeat. Her head rose and fell with each of his breaths. She was truly connected with him. Soon, she could even hear him snore. And that sound, with her own contentment, was enough to lull her to sleep.

She opened her eyes and was in a store. She was surrounded by blue and pink and a variety of different animals, plus cribs and strollers and nursing chairs.

"Gabby?" She turned when she heard her name. She saw Matt and he was grinning, his hand laying on a baby blue stroller. He looked so happy, he was practically glowing. She walked over to him and forced a smile upon her face. To be quite honest, she was a little overwhelmed.

"What do you think?" She didn't know what to say. Why would she care?

"Are you ok?" He laid his hand on her stomach, and she looked down to it and it was resting on a bump. A baby bump. Oh _that's_ why she would care.

But she didn't get a chance to answer. The store faded away, and she was standing in her guest room. Only it wasn't a guest room anymore. It was a nursery. And there was a crib. Where a baby was crying. (Talk about overwhelming.)

She felt a cold rush go through her and Casey appeared in front of her. Or, as she guessed, _through_ her. He hurried over to the crib and picked up the baby. The crying gradually got quieter and quieter and with a few funny faces from Casey, the baby even started to laugh. Dawson felt an urge and started to walk toward the two of them. She looked at Matt and saw a tear drip down his cheek.

"Don't tell your mom I'm crying." Dawson smiled. "I just… I love you more than anything in the world. You make our family complete." Dawson felt a tear drip down her own cheek. It was the perfect picture; the man she loved so much holding their child. And as much as those last words sounded so foreign to her, it felt amazing.

Gabby reached out to stroke the baby's soft skin, but couldn't. Her hand went right through, like the baby was just a hologram. It puzzled her, and honestly frustrated her, but she didn't think about it long.

Because it was just then that she woke up.


	2. Sick Day

"Gabby wake up." Matt shook her shoulders, but she only groaned.

"Gabby we're going to be late!" Matt gave up and walked away to change into his work clothes.

She finally sat up, head aching. That small movement made her want to vomit. She eased herself back onto her pillow, trying to prevent the world from spinning again.

"Gabby. Seriously. You have to get up, sweetie."

She groaned again. "Not if I'm not going to work."

"You're going to play hookey already? You just started at Austin, give it a week or two." He tried to turn it into a joke, receiving only a glare and silence from an unappreciative Gabby.

"Matt, I feel like shit. I'm not going anywhere."

"Ok, I'm sorry." He kneeled down beside the bed and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "I have to go before I'm late then. I'll get Antonio to stop by later."

"Love you babe!" She called out, as he left, though it hurt her throat.

"Love you too!"

xxxXXXXXxxx

"Casey, are you ok?" While getting his usual morning caffeine boost, Boden couldn't help but look Casey over. He was impulsively bouncing his leg, and starting off into space with a concerned look in his eyes. He was also dumping salt into his coffee which is really what grabbed Boden's attention.

Casey's eyes came back into focus and he realized what he was doing. He got up and dumped the contents of his mug into the kitchen drain. "Uh, yeah Chief," he replied while rinsing out his glass before pouring in a fresh dose.

"Are you sure?" Casey had served under Boden for so long, he knew all of Casey's tricks; he could write a book on how to interpret them.

"It's just Gabby. She's sick, and I feel bad for bailing on her…" Casey turned to see Boden giving him a look. Casey couldn't decipher it, it was so mixed. But laying on the surface was an expression of humor, he at least got that much.

"Go. Hermann can fill in for the day." That's all Boden had to say and relief washed over Casey's face. He almost ran to get his stuff and head home.

But when he pulled out his keys to open the door, his stomach flipped with hesitation. He didn't like sick people, and he wasn't the best person to take care of one. It was just another reason he was a firefighter and not a paramedic…

"Antonio?" Gabby called out when she heard someone come in.

"No, sweetie it's me." Casey entered the room, threw down his duffel bag and perched on the bed beside his girl. He brushed the damp hair off of her feverish forehead and pulled the blanket up to cover more of her. "What do you need? Do you think you can eat? Maybe you should get some more rest…"

Gabby smiled. She would have laughed, but that would have cost her too much energy and at that moment, she didn't have enough to spare. Every cell was dedicated to getting rid of this virus. But even through her illness she could tell Casey was nervous in some way. "I'm fine babe. Your company's enough for now."

Casey kicked off his shoes and crawled into bed beside her. She slowly, very slowly- like tired turtle sped slowly, turned to face him. She nestled her forehead into his chest, and he laid his arm on her side, trying to send positive thoughts a whole 3 centimeters away because he didn't know what else to do.

That day, he did whatever Gabby needed. He made her chicken noodle soup (not that she ate much, though she ate all she could), rubbed her feet, retrieved extra blankets, and mainly cuddled her. He did the bare minimum he could, not because he didn't want to but because he didn't know how to do more. And for Gabby, what he did was just fine. Personally, just coming back for her was good enough. She smiled when she thought about it; most of her other boyfriends had been douches. She had been with few guys as kind and loving as Casey and sometimes she even worried if it spoiled her. Either way, she loved every second of it, of being with him.

xxxXXXXXxxx

"Matt, time to wake up... Babe?"

"I don't feel too well…."


	3. Dealing with Death

**A/N: Sorry this took me so long! Freshman year has just been killing me recently… Hopefully I'll be posting more soon! **

**A/N Dos: I was originally going to write this fic as being independent of the show, but at the time I hadn't expected I had never expected the death of one of my favorite characters, so plans changed! I figured that, like in the show, they would have to come to terms with it, and it was important to their relationship, so ta-da! this chapter was born. Once again I'm hoping to write more soon so be on the lookout! Thanks for the support already! :)**

Gabby sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the TV screen but not seeing. The announcers were talking about a brave blonde who gave her life in the line of duty during a warehouse explosion. Then they started spouting off statistics about first responder deaths and the most common causes, and such and such, but for Gabby, that one picture set off a whole series of memories.

_Arriving to the scene; everything looking normal, little smoke showing, her training telling her it was nothing serious._

_Telling her partner how her other partner had popped the question._

_Being called over the radio, to stabilize some guy who'd fallen._

_Assessing the patient, once again not seeing anything major or dangerous. _

_Joking with her partner about change and moving on._

_Then switching places with her…_

_A big explosion, shaking the entire building and being blown backwards._

_Getting up, a little achy, but only caring about finding her best friend. _

_Finding her, laying in a pool of blood. _

_Starting CPR, and continuing it long after tears filled her vision past the point of seeing clearly._

_Hearing voices, briefly recognizing them but not really caring._

_Then switching off with Severide, and feeling Casey trying to pull them both away._

_Finally he succeeded, and they took her partner away._

_Feeling nothing but a pit in her stomach- doom. She knew that feisty blonde she loved so much would never walk again. She would never walk, speak, move, comfort, cry, or anything else again. She wouldn't go on a girl's weekend with her again. She wouldn't be Gabby's friend anymore. She just wouldn't be._

_Then she remembered walking out, still feeling nothing. She felt people tugging on her jacket sleeves, and shouting at her, asking her if she was ok, but all she knew was the sun was too bright. All she could do is look up into the bright, bright sky, and feel the warmth on her face. The rest was just too much._

_Then she was guided towards the ladder truck, and Casey was beside her. But she was still numb. She mumbled a couple assurances, like, "I'm fine," or "I'm not hurt." But it was all a lie. She would never be the same again._

"Gabby are you ok?" Casey came into the room, finding his fiance crying on the bed. In reality, he didn't need to ask. He knew Gabby was not ok, and he knew it was because Shay was gone, and he knew there wasn't a lot he could do.

Gabby didn't say anything, but again she didn't need to. Casey sat beside her, and pulled her into an embrace. He didn't feel the same hurt she did. Yeah losing Shay was like losing a member of his family, because she _was_ part of his family. His firehouse family sometimes meant more to him than his blood family, so her death didn't come easy. But at the same time, he didn't share that relationship Dawson (or Severide for that matter) had with her, so he didn't feel the same pain. So he didn't know the best way to comfort his ailing finacé. All he could do was hold her while she purged herself of tears for that moment.

Little did he know, that meant the world to her, though even she didn't know it yet.

"It just... hurts... so much..." she gasped between sobs.

"I know sweetie," Casey said, though he didn't fully understand it. He pulled her closer to him, and stroked her back, and murmured sweet words to her. And mainly, he just waited it out. He hoped that with his support, and time, they could be back to the life they had always dreamed of. She just needed to deal with Shay's death, anyway she could.


End file.
